Fort Worth PD officers buy new AC unit for struggling vet

FORT WORTH, Texas - The Fort Worth police officers were just a few hours into their shift when they responded to what is considered the lowest priority 911 call.

But when the officers got to the elderly man's house and saw it was 85 degrees inside with a broken AC unit, they knew they had to help.

At 95 years old, Julius Hatley may be a little difficult to understand, but his infectious laugh says all you need to know about the World War ll vet.

Hatley woke up Thursday morning drenched in sweat. His old window AC unit had stopped working. Unsure of what to do, he called 911.

Officer William Margolis and Christopher Weir responded to Hatley's Fort Worth home just after 8 a.m. The men took one look at the disabled unit and quickly came up with a solution.

“I talked to my partner and I talked to the gentleman and said, ‘Look, we’re going to help you out. I'll be back in just a little bit. I promise you.’” Margolis said.

The officers went to Home Depot to buy Hatley a new AC unit. Officer Weir snapped a photo of his partner at the checkout counter. Weir shared the picture on social media. The kind gesture quickly spread online.

The highly-trained law enforcement officers admit installing the appliance wasn’t their strong suit. But with help from another officer, they got it in.

It was a nice gesture that touched the hearts of everyone involved.

“This is what we do the job for. We don’t do it to issue citations and arrests, we do it to help people,” Weir said. “We got to see some humanity today and makes all of us feel good.”

When a Home Depot manager got wind of what the officers were doing, the store covered $150 of the purchase price.

Officer Weir and Margolis say they're working to get Hatley's central AC system fixed.